'A gentleman never kisses and tells': 'The Bachelor' ends with a cliffhanger

You didn’t even have to watch ABC’s The Bachelor this season to know that the star, 27-year-old Colton Underwood, was a virgin. Not only was it endlessly promoted by the network and mentioned in hundreds of headlines leading up to the premiere, but the season’s tagline was: “What does he have to lose?” (Get it?!)

So it was no surprise that, having posed this question at the beginning of Colton’s journey, this week’s season finale sought to answer the question. However, the show veered into seriously creepy territory, as the topic came up quite frequently – and producers even staged a roundtable discussion to theorize about the answer. On social media, viewers were pretty grossed out.

At the start of the episode, host Chris Harrison reminded everyone of the very high stakes involved: “Will Colton still find the love of his life? Or will he remain a virgin forever?”

As it turns out – no one really knows! (Also, are those the only two options?) Although Colton did successfully reunite with Cassie Randolph after she brutally rejected him in the penultimate episode, and they finally got their fantasy suite date, Colton was tight-lipped when producers pressed him for details the morning after.

“I feel very good waking up. Last night with Cassie was absolutely incredible, and I feel like a new man. We had an amazing night. We did what was best for our relationship, and we grew as a couple,” he said. “What happened last night was great for our relationship.”

“Care to elaborate?” an off-camera producer asked.

Colton smiled. “A gentleman never kisses and tells,” he said. “But I do want you to know that I’m very happy. And you can use your imagination.”

He was equally vague on After the Final Rose, when he and Cassie (they confirmed they’re still dating, though not engaged) sat for an interview with Harrison, who demanded to know: “The fantasy suite. We’ve been waiting for this all season. Well, did you lose your virginity?”

“I will say, heading into the fantasy suite, I wasn’t thinking about anything other than fighting for our relationship,” Colton said, as he and Cassie sat together on the couch. “I know I’ve been very open and candid about my virginity. But since there are two of us now in this relationship, it’s something we are going to keep to ourselves.”

“I’ll take that as a yes,” Harrison shot back.

Prior to directly asking Colton, the show was more than happy to speculate. In addition to Harrison’s many references as he teased upcoming scenes (“Will Colton end his journey at the same way he began: Alone and still a virgin?” “It’s the answer everybody’s dying to know … is our Bachelor still a virgin?”), producers assembled a group of former Bachelor and Bachelorette contestants to share their thoughts. The segment aired right after Colton and Cassie closed the door to the fantasy suite, and had the vibe of a wildly inappropriate NFL halftime show or cable news panel.

“Colton and Cassie just shut the world out of their fantasy suite. What will happen next?!” Harrison wondered excitedly. “I’ve invited a few of my close friends in here to dish and talk about what’s gonna happen.” He turned to Ben Higgins: “Colton always said he would wait until he is in love. He’s in love and he’s in the fantasy suite. What’s gonna happen?”

“I don’t know what happened, I don’t even want to think about, honestly, what is happening,” Ben said, attempting discretion. “But he’s in love, he’s in the fantasy suite, and we’ve got to celebrate that.” Thank you, Ben, for being a gentleman.

The others weren’t so modest (Demi Burnett: “I hope Cassie jumps on Colton like a Portuguese fence!” Harrison: “He did get over that fence quickly!”) and things spiraled from there. Chris Randone tried to calm everyone down by saying that sometimes the fantasy suite is more about having serious talks rather than sex, but the group seemed far more interested in making virginity puns. Many viewers were horrified.

And as if that weren’t enough, Colton and Cassie’s segment ended with a surprise, and extremely random, live performance by Air Supply, which serenaded the new couple.